


On My Mind

by MadamRed



Series: 400-Follower Celebration (Tumblr) [16]
Category: Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Dancing in the Snow, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Inappropriate Behavior, Kissing, Snow, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, at the work place, but like it's mild, for chapter two:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 06:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10457961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRed/pseuds/MadamRed
Summary: Writing promptnotrequested on Tumblr: “I don't hate you.”





	1. Roxy

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who’s back in the CM fandom, peeps? :D
> 
> Credit to [imagicana](https://imagicana.tumblr.com/) for helping me when I got stuck and for being amazing by reading it and making very useful comments. The whole Roxy thing was her idea! Thank you, dear! :)
> 
> I swear I tried to keep this short *sweats*
> 
>  **Warning :** Season 12 spoilers ahead!

Garcia was complaining about your co-worker Luke again, or the Newbie, as she called him despite the fact that he had been part of the team for months now. She still kind of hated him because she felt he had taken Morgan’s place.

‘No one kicks doors down like my chocolate thunder,’ she told you from the couch one day after you asked her why she could not tolerate him. You had been hanging out together all afternoon during a rare yet peaceful Sunday.

‘You should at least try to be civil with him, you know?’ you advised, moving to the kitchen to refill your tea mugs as she tried to choose another movie to watch.

‘Why? He’s always trying to find ways to mock me,’ she tried to defend her behaviour.

‘That’s only because _you_ mock him first,’ you replied as you came back and settled against the cushions. ‘You liked his dog, right? Roxy? At least try to bond with him over that.’

‘Maybe,’ Garcia had said and brought an end to that conversation as she started gushing about some random actor.

Now, if you had the ability to travel back in time, you would probably go back to that _exact_ moment and say something different.

Because in hindsight, telling your friend to bond with the guy you found mildly attractive and tried not to stare at all the time might be considered a mistake by some people. But, back then, you didn’t know that this infatuation was going to develop into anything else.

You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when it happened. It was more of a gradual thing. The feelings grew with each passing day and new little quirk or endearing trait you discovered about him...

The way he smiled from across the room and waved at you in the mornings made your stomach flip. The way he stood in front of you when an UnSub got too close once (and then apologised because he didn’t want you to feel belittled by his overprotective nature) made you feel warm all over each time you remembered. The way he furrowed his eyebrows when he concentrated too hard on something made you want to reach out and smooth his handsome features.

It was all too much. You had troubles keeping a straight face and a blush from taking over your face whenever he complimented you on something you had done or how you had styled your hair that day. You thought, _maybe,_ you stood a chance. All you needed to do was figure out if the things he told you were part of his personality, like Morgan’s constant stream of flirtatious comments, or if he actually liked you.

However, all your hope went down the drain and your heart sunk in your chest when you heard he and Garcia were on a first name basis now. You could not believe you had let yourself be fooled once more. It was the same feeling you got when you heard them starting to talk more comfortably to each other and again when Garcia showed you the little cat toy Luke had given her to cheer her up.

So one day, when you saw them chatting quietly in the hallway and laughing, you finally decided to step down. Your friendship with Garcia was a lot more important to you than some new guy. Even if he was the first person you were interested in after years of one-time dates that never led to anything.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and left the files you had been carrying in Garcia’s office. You got back to your desk and hoped that you didn’t get a case that day. You really just wanted to go home and wallow in self-pity in the comfort of your bed.

Thankfully, an hour later, with no case in sight, the team started getting ready to leave for the day while they chatted about their plans for the weekend. You discreetly grabbed your purse and made your way to the lift, trying not to bring any attention to yourself.

When the lift finally stopped in the parking lot, you almost ran straight to your car. You drove for a long while, willing your mind to calm down and accept the fact that you had never stood a chance, especially against Garcia. Feeling another wave of sadness hit you, you parked the car outside a coffee shop.

Between the cases, the unrequited feelings you were trying to ignore and the fact that Reid was still imprisoned, your mind was constantly going a thousand miles a minute. You barely slept at night and were having problems concentrating at work for long periods of time, which meant coffee had become your new and reliable companion.

You exited the shop with a drink in hand and decided to walk around the park across the street as you listened to some music to distract you from your thoughts. It was a fairly big park, so after half an hour of walking aimlessly, you finished your beverage and moved towards the lake in the middle.

You were just standing there and looking over at the water, not really focusing on anything other than the singer’s raw voice in your ears, when you felt a strong body collide with your legs, making you fall flat on you face.

You cursed under your breath and pulled your headphones down as a tongue started licking your cheek.

‘You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,’ you muttered as you sat down on the grass and saw Luke running towards you and Roxy.

‘(Y/N)?’ he panted, extending his hand to help you up. He was drenched in sweat and your mind betrayed you as it started conjuring up other scenarios that might get him to look like that. _Stop._

‘Thanks, Luke,’ you told him, not looking at him in the eye and busying yourself with trying to get rid of the worst of the damage to your clothes. You had grass stains all over your trousers and shirt, even a bit of mud in some places. You sighed, already thinking of picking up some more detergent on your way home.

‘I’m sorry about Roxy,’ he apologised as he knelt down and started petting the dog’s fur.

‘It’s okay, don’t worry about it,’ you replied, petting her head. She immediately sat down, enjoying the attention.

‘I have no idea what got into her. One second we were all the way around the lake, and the next thing I knew, I was chasing after her,’ he shook his head as he laughed and directed his beautiful smile up to you.

You had to look away, or else you would blush. You had had enough humiliation for one day. You smiled and nodded, not trusting your voice around him. He got up and motioned for you to follow him, Roxy walking in front of you both.

‘What were you doing around here? I thought you lived on the other side of town,’ he mentioned casually after a few minutes of silence.

‘I-ah, I didn’t feel like going home right away so I just drove around for a bit and stopped by the coffee house across the street,’ you half lied to him. He didn’t need to know the whole story, so you shifted the conversation back to him. ‘Do you always go for a run in the afternoon?’

‘Yes. Roxy loves going to the park,’ he petted her again as you waited for the street light to change and cross the street to get to your car.

‘So, I guess I’ll go home and wash these now,’ you gestured towards your clothes as you pressed the button to unlock the car.

‘Okay,’ he said. You could swear a look of slight disappointment appeared on his face before one of his bright smiles took over. ‘Or, you could come to my place and let me buy you dinner, you know, to make up for my dog tackling you and all.’

 _What?_ Your brain was screaming at you to say _yes, please,_ but your voice caught in your throat as you tried to come up with a less desperate answer.

‘Unless you hate me and think I’m a creep for asking!’ he quickly backtracked and his smile faltered, taking your silence as a negative sign.

‘No!’ you said suddenly, your voice a little too loud. ‘I-I don’t hate you. I was just surprised, that’s all. Yeah, sure, I could eat.’

‘Okay, great,’ he smiled and looked everywhere but at your face, making you feel slightly self-conscious. ‘You can leave your car here, by the way. I live right above the coffee house.’

 _Of course_ you drove around the city trying to put as much distance between you and your co-workers just to park your damn car right in front of Luke’s building. _Of course_  you did. You mentally face palmed as you locked your vehicle again and followed him inside.

‘Make yourself at home,’ he announced, letting you walk into his apartment first. You had never been there before so you allowed your eyes to wander around for a bit as you left your purse on the couch. ‘I was thinking of ordering something, maybe a pizza. Is that alright with you?’ he asked, as he refilled Roxy’s water bowl and took two water bottles from the fridge, leaving one on the counter for you.

‘Thank you,’ you said as you took a small sip. ‘And, yeah, pizza sounds great.’

‘Why don’t you take a shower first and change?’ he proposed, his back to you as he started washing the few things he had in the sink.

You blushed at the thought of using his shower but quickly shook your head. You were not a teenager anymore. So what if your crush offered you his shower? Big deal.

‘Um, sure, thank you. I have to go downstairs to pick up my go-bag, though,’ you said, rummaging in your purse to find your car keys.

‘Oh, I can go. Give me your keys and you can go start the shower,’ he proposed and you handed the keys. He smiled before he pointed at the door leading to the bathroom and then he disappeared.

Cool. You were now waiting for the water to warm up in Luke’s bathroom, no biggie.

You took a deep breath and looked at yourself in the mirror. You had mud across your cheek. _Great._ You had been walking around with that on your face; no wonder Luke told you to use the shower first.

You sighed as you started stripping, so engrossed in thinking about the day’s events that you didn’t hear the front door open and close. And you didn’t pay attention to the sound of Roxy’s paws against the floor or to the footsteps that were getting closer and closer to the bathroom, so you jumped when you heard Luke knocking on the door.

‘(Y/N), are you in the shower? Can I come in?’ he asked.

‘No! Uh, give me a second,’ you said and moved inside the shower, pulling the curtain shut behind you. ‘Come in!’

‘I’m just going to leave this here. I’ll order when you’re done and then take a shower myself,’ he said and left.

Your heart was pounding for some reason and you released the breath you were holding. That was a close call. You showered in ten minutes and changed as quickly as you could, putting some sweat pants and an old university t-shirt before brushing your hair and putting it in a messy bun on top of your head. You had other outfits but those were more appropriate for the office than to wear at someone’s house for pizza.

You sighed for the umpteenth time that day. You made a mental note to pack other options next time around. Not that you thought this would repeat itself, but still.

You exited the bathroom and then Luke got in, telling you what he had ordered and to wait for the delivery guy.

You kept yourself busy with your phone for a while and faintly heard the water being turned off as Roxy came to sit next to you on the couch. You were petting her as Luke opened the door to the bathroom. You looked up to ask him something about Roxy but the words died in your lips.

There he was, the man you had been fantasising about for months now standing in nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his hips. Your eyes followed the few drops that fell from his hair down to his broad shoulders and you barely registered the fact that he told he would be back in a few minutes before he closed the door to his bedroom.

All in all, you were proud of the fact you had not drooled, to be honest. That image, though, was going haunt you. You looked down at Roxy, who had been staring at you for a few minutes, her head to the side.

‘You tackled me on purpose, didn’t you, girl?’ to which she just wagged her tail and knocked your hand with her head so that you would continue giving her attention.

You shook your head. Surviving dinner was going to be rather difficult. You could feel it.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell, and Luke asked you if you could buzz the guy in. You did as you were told and were getting some money out of your wallet when the owner of the place walked by and took it from your hand.

‘Nah-ah! It’s on me, remember?’ he smiled as he opened the door and paid the guy. He turned around, dodging a very interested Roxy, and dropped the box on the dinner table along with your wallet.

You stood there, staring openly this time. He was wearing sweat pants and nothing else. SSA-in training Luke Alvez, had his gorgeous tan skin and abs in perfect display and you did not know what to do with yourself. You swallowed, feeling flustered.

‘Hey, (Y/N), do you mind if-?’ he looked up and saw you staring at him. His eyes moved downwards to his bare chest for a second before they moved up again and locked with yours. He said nothing, waiting for your reaction.

You cleared your throat, trying to regain some dignity after getting caught and looked away, grabbed your wallet from the table, putting it back in your purse and willing your face to return to its normal colour. You took a seat at the table and said nothing as you both started eating in silence.

Luke had this little smirk on his face the entire time, and you looked everywhere but at him. After you finished, he got up to feed Roxy and you allowed your eyes to wander down his back again. The situation was awkward as it was, so you needed to make up some excuse to leave before you did something stupid again.

You got up and took your phone, checking your messages. You had six different cat videos, curtesy of Penelope Garcia. You laughed quietly as you replied quickly.

‘(Y/N),’ Luke called you from the kitchen, his voice hesitant.

‘Mm?’ you hummed before putting your phone away.

‘Am I making you uncomfortable like this?’ he asked, coming around the table and standing in front of you. Your eyes widened, not knowing what to say really.

‘Um, no, not really,’ you said, looking over his shoulder.

‘Then, why are you not looking at me?’ he tried again. You moved your gaze towards his face again and saw him smirk. ‘Or, maybe I'm distracting you?’

You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out so instead, you grabbed onto the back of the couch and felt around for a moment until your hand found one of the cushions. You seized it and hit him in the face with it.

‘Don’t think so highly of yourself, you ass!’ you tried to laugh your nervousness off, but it sounded a little strained. You hit him again playfully in the chest before letting go of the cushion.

‘Okay, okay,’ he laughed, afraid to unleash another attack. ‘But you gotta admit you _were_ staring.’

You saw him step closer, towering over you. Your mouth went dry as you unconsciously looked at his lips, the smirk giving way to a grin, as his suspicions proved to be correct.

You wanted to bolt and were about to do so before you did anything you could regret when you felt his hand grasping yours gently.

‘When I saw Roxy tackling someone today in the distance, I got scared she had hurt whoever it was. But then,’ his voice was low as he brought his other hand to your cheek, ‘when I saw it was you and that you were unharmed, I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity.’

‘What do you mean?’ you whispered.

‘You usually run away from me whenever you see me around in the office and give me short, sometimes even monosyllabic, answers,’ he laughed a little at your surprised expression. You were shooting for casual, not rude. ‘I honestly thought you hated me.’

‘I most definitely don’t hate you... quite the contrary, actually,’ you confessed, meeting his eyes again, and he licked his lips.

‘Is that so?’ he smiled as you tentatively rested your hand on his chest and nodded. ‘Good, cause I kind of don’t hate you, too.’

You moved at the same time and you sighed as your lips met. The kiss was shy at first, only your mouths moving against each other. You stepped back for a second, needing some air, and kept your eyes closed.

Luke kissed your forehead and you felt your heart beating faster at that than at the previous kiss. You opened your eyes and were met with the softest expression you had ever seen in his face.

You stood on your tip toes and moved your hands to the back of his neck, bringing him closer to you as you kissed again, his hands settling on your waist. He let you set the pace and followed your lead when you bit his lower lip. He opened his mouth, and soon enough your tongue was sliding next to his, his arms tightening around your frame.

‘We should probably stop,’ he mumbled as you kissed along his jaw, enjoying the feeling of his stubble against your lips.

‘Why?’ you challenged him, and he took a shaky breath.

‘Because if we don’t, I’ll-’ your phone started ringing in that moment, quickly killing the mood, and you retrieved it from your purse, Luke’s arms never leaving you.

‘Yeah?’ was all you said as one of Luke’s hands had slipped right under the hem of your shirt and his fingers were caressing the skin of your lower back, making you shiver.

‘Sweetie, I’m sorry to bother you, but we have a case,’ Garcia’s voice sounded apologetic, and you heard her closing a car door and telling the driver to go to the FBI building.

‘Be right there, Penny,’ you said as you looked up at Luke, shaking your head to let him know that nothing was going to happen tonight. He sighed as he moved away from you to go change and grab his go-bag from the bedroom.

‘Can you please call JJ and Luke? I’ll call Rossi and Lewis now.’

‘Sure.’

You hung up, called JJ and then went to change in the bathroom. By the time you exited, Luke was waiting for you and you both left his apartment. The silence was only broken by him calling somebody to go pick Roxy up and leave her at a doggy daycare since he didn’t know how long he was going to be away.

You made it to the BAU in record time thanks to the lack of traffic going that way and were locking the car when you heard a gasp behind you.

‘(Y/N), _no,’_ Garcia said, her mouth open in shock.

For a moment, you didn’t know what she was talking about, until you noticed that Luke had your purse and go-bag in his hand along with his while he waited for you to finish with the car.

‘Penny, I-I can explain,’ you said quickly, moving closer to her but she only put her hand up to get you to shut up.

She moved past the two of you and into the building, the only sound was the clicking of her heels against the floor. You looked over at Luke who just shrugged and handed you your things before you both chased after Garcia.

You caught up to her and got on the lift just in time. No one uttered a word, and you shifted your weight from one foot to the other, trying to think of something to say. Luke was looking from you to Garcia and back to you, confused by her sudden anger.

The lift dinged loudly, and you and Garcia moved to the conference room while Luke trailed behind to give you two a moment.

‘Penelope, please. At least let me explain,’ you begged after a few minutes of her cold-shoulder treatment.

You were really scared you had ruined your friendship with her. While you were kissing Luke, the thought that Garcia may feel something for him didn’t even cross your mind and now you felt incredibly guilty for not talking about it with her first.

‘No, (Y/N),’ she replied as she looked up from her tablet. ‘I’m hurt.’

‘Penelope,’ you heard Luke say as he came into the room.

‘Newbie, don’t you dare,’ she threatened as she pointed a finger at him.

‘What? I’m the newbie again? I thought we had moved past that,’ he sighed, taking a seat right next to you.

‘Luke, that’s not helping,’ you glared at him. ‘Penny-’

‘Nope, you sided with the enemy without telling me! How long has this been going on? Oh, my God!’ she snapped, actually looking hurt. ‘Is that why you told me to be civil with him?!’

Luke turned his body in the chair to look at you, trying to conceal a smirk, as you dropped your head in your hands. You wanted to go home and crawl in your bed, but for a different reason now. You looked up as she continued talking.

‘I can’t believe you! Why would you not tell me-’

‘Penelope-’

‘Is it because I was mean to him? Because let me tell you something, he’s been insuf-’

_‘Penny-’_

‘Really, how long have you two-’

‘WE JUST KISSED!’ you yelled at the top of your voice and stood up, your hands in the air, at the same time JJ and Emily stepped through the door next to the flat screen.

Penelope had finally stopped talking and her eyes darted between your shock expression at seeing the girls walk in and Luke’s blush.

‘He’s blushing! Oh, my God, he’s blushing! You actually kissed?!’ Garcia was trying to contain her laughter as JJ and Emily shook their heads in amusement and settled down around the table.

‘What?!’ you asked, taking a seat again, feeling embarrassed by your outburst.

‘(Y/N), sweetie, I was just teasing you because you came to work together, that was all,’ Garcia told you, laughing.

‘Oh, my God,’ your pleading eyes moved to Emily, who was having a lot of fun at your expense.

‘(Y/N), you and Luke are going to have a little talk with me in my office when we come back,’ she said, putting on a more serious expression before continuing, ‘and no funny business while at work.’

Your whole face went red. You hit your forehead against the table and stayed there, unmoving.

‘Hey,’ Luke whispered, a hand on your back to get you to look up. You did, opening your mouth to apologise, but he just held up a finger to your lips. ‘Don’t even try it. It’s okay. _We_ are okay,’ he said with a small smile, understanding the concern in your eyes perfectly, and your insides melted.

‘Aww,’ came the chorus from the three women in the room.

You just proceeded to headbutt the table again.


	2. Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team is called to assist on a case in Minnesota just days before Christmas, and Luke surprises you when you least expect it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few people were interested in a sequel to On My Mind, so here it is! ~~Just nine months later, eyyy.~~
> 
> I was listening to this the entire time I was writing this so [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFIgMlBcKAs). It inspired about half of this fic, tbh.
> 
> Come yell at me about Criminal Minds over on [Tumblr](https://madamredwrites.tumblr.com/) :)

You sighed as you stared out of the window at the falling snow. Your watch said 12.05, which meant that Christmas day was officially over.

The police station was pretty quiet since most officers had been allowed to stay at home for the holidays. The team had been called away to Minneapolis, Minnesota just a few days before Christmas, and progress had been almost non-existing until three hours ago when a new victim, a man in his early thirties, was found by a couple in a secluded area off the beaten path.

Prentiss, Rossi and Walker had gone to talk to the forensic doctor about the latest victim, while Reid, Lewis and JJ were talking to the man’s family and friends to see if they could find any leads as to what was going on.

You were supposed to be working on what the team had and trying to narrow down the search with Luke, but your boyfriend was nowhere to be found, you noticed when you turned around after spacing out for some time. You swore he had been there just five minutes ago. Or was it more like fifteen?

“I need coffee,” you muttered and sat down, covering a yawn with the back of your hand.

As you waited for someone to come back, you continued working with the files in front of you, which were haphazardly strewn on the table, trying to find a connection between the two victims.

Just as your eyes were beginning to droop, you heard the conference room door open and close. You turned and saw Luke, shivering and with a bunch of snowflakes stuck to his hair and shoulders. He was wearing this long black coat, scarf and gloves.

“Luke?” you asked and got up, a little more awake now.

“Here,” he said, handing you your own items of outerwear. You quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Is there a new lead?” you asked as you put on your scarf and gloves. “Is that why we’re going out into the freezing cold?”

“Nope, this has nothing to do with the case,” he replied, grabbing you by the hand and walking out of the police station through the back door.

“Then, why are we-”

“Don’t worry, I asked Emily earlier and she gave us permission to do this,” he said, letting go of your hand and walking ahead a few paces before he realised you were not following him and stopped to look back at you.

“And _‘this’_ is what exactly?” You put your hands on your hips and looked at him straight in the eye. You were way too tired to play along with one of his little games.

He sighed and walked back towards you, retrieving something from one of his pockets.

“Here, put this in your ear.” It was an earphone. You realised then that he actually had one already in one of his ears.

You did as you were told, since it was clear he was not going to elaborate unless you cooperated.

Once you had the ear piece in place, he guided one of your hands to his shoulder as he stepped closer and then his hand held onto your free one. His other one went back to his pocket and [music started to play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFIgMlBcKAs) in your ear before his hand came to rest on your waist.

Luke began to sway as his eyes never left yours. You couldn’t help but smile at his soft expression and rested your head on his chest, closing your eyes as the singers’ beautiful voices helped you relax.

Luke’s arm tightened around you before he tried to spin you around and failed because of the earphones still attached to your ears. You laughed together under the clouds while the snow fell non-stop, engulfing you in a little bubble of happiness.

As the song neared its end, he dipped you and kissed you - pecked you, really.

“What brought this on?” you whispered against his lips as he helped you straighten up and the final notes played. You both took the earphones out and he put them away in his pocket.

“Can’t a guy do something nice for his girlfriend on their nine-month anniversary?” His cocky grin widened as he saw realisation crossing your features.

“It’s the 26th, of course.” You shook your head to hide your big smile. _This guy,_ you thought.

“Of course,” he mocked you before leaning his forehead against yours. His voice was low, “Happy nine-month anniversary, (Y/N).”

“Happy nine-month anniversary, Luke,” you said in the same hushed tone and kissed him. You both moved slowly, making the most out of the quietness and privacy you rarely got to enjoy during cases.

“Sorry I couldn’t treat you to dinner this time around. I had it all planned and everything,” he said once you separated.

“It’s okay, not your fault,” you stepped back and smiled at him. His hair was a mess due to the snow, and you knew yours probably looked even worse.

You both walked back into the police station and shook the snow out of your shoes and shoulders before getting rid of your coats and going back to the conference room, ready to hear whatever the team had managed to gather from their interviews.

When you sat down, though, Luke asked you, “So... what do you say?”

“What do I say about what?” you replied, not looking away from the file in your hand.

“About New Year’s Eve.” You looked up, confused. “The song? It was- Doesn’t matter, actually,” he mumbled and turned in his chair to talk to you properly. “I was thinking we could, you know, take a couple of days off and spend New Year’s together. Just you and me. No cases, no Bureau, no nothing. What do you say?”

“I say... absolutely!” You and Luke leaned in at the same time, your hand coming up to keep his face in place as you two exchanged a few more kisses. “Hey, Luke?”

“Mm?” was all he said. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be enjoying the peaceful moment.

“Lately, I’ve-”

Someone cleared their throat and you both jumped apart immediately. Prentiss was standing there with a smirking Rossi while Walker entertained the local chief of police, making sure the woman didn’t see what you and Luke were doing. You stood up and immediately started rambling.

“Emily, we’re so sorry! We got a little carried away there and... and... Help me out here!” You lightly hit Luke in the arm with your hand.

“I have nothing, honey,” he told you genuinely before standing up and addressing your Unit Chief. “We’re sorry, Prentiss. That won’t happen again.”

“I hope it doesn’t,” she said and gave you her signature, no-bullshit look as she took the seat next to yours.

“It was bound to happen eventually, though,” Rossi commented as the rest of the team came into the room.

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner,” Walker agreed.

You remained silent and refused to make eye contact with anyone as you all sat down and Emily called Penelope.

“Okay, Garcia, you’re on speaker,” Emily said. “But, before we start, let’s settle this. Who had nine months? I had six.”

With your mouth open, you looked around the room as the other team members said which month they had - including Penelope, who had ten and was blaming her loss on Luke - and saw Spencer raising his hand, clearly happy to have won the bet. You slid down your chair, mortified.

“Great, we all owe Reid twenty bucks. Now, moving on to our latest victim. Garcia, what were you able to find?”

As the conversation started, you sat properly, begging your mind to focus on the case rather than the embarrassment from a minute ago. It wasn’t the bet that had done the trick, but rather the fact that the team almost walked in on you telling Luke you loved him for the first time.

You glanced over at Luke and saw that, despite everything, he had a tiny smile on his face. It made warmth spread all over your chest. The gesture may have been small, but he had gone out of his way to ensure you had a moment to yourselves on your anniversary.

Thinking back on it, the conference room of a police station in the middle of Minnesota maybe wasn’t the most appropriate place to tell him how much you cared about him. At least now you had time to plan how you wanted to say it.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing Luke so let me know what you think!
> 
> Come yell at me about Criminal Minds over on tumblr: [madamredwrites](http://madamredwrites.tumblr.com/) ❤️


End file.
